


Most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs

by CertifiedAngstWriter



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, M/M, TW: Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24524752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertifiedAngstWriter/pseuds/CertifiedAngstWriter
Summary: The petals came as a shock to jack... he couldn’t die... right?
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Kudos: 33





	Most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a continuation of my other oneshot “if you’re still breathing you’re the lucky ones” even though the titles are linked. It’s just the same concept completely different oneshot.

Jack knew the disease well, he'd been the cause of many deaths due to the flowers because of his tendency to go just a little too far with his 51st century pheromones. Somehow though, he never did think that one day he would find himself in the clutches of the very same disease. 

It all began when ianto was nearly ripped from him after a close encounter with a weevil. Jack had sat by the hospital bed of his colleague when it all started to go wrong. Jack had, had a cough for around three days now but he thought nothing of it. However as Ianto's body ceased and the heart monitor screamed out for help as it flat lined, a searing pain flooded jacks throat. He was thrown from the room as doctors and nurses flooded in. Jack stumbled round a corner. The searing pain wasn't normal fear of losing a friend, jack knew this. He also knew it wasn't the pain of losing a .... he refused to call the young man a lover just yet. Jack felt the pain running up his throat before he instinctively covered his mouth letting out a harsh, choked sounding cough as the familiar yet metallic taste of blood lined the inside of his lips. He glanced in horror at the petal in his hands it seemed to be covered in blood but jack couldn't really tell. The petal was black. Confused as to how this seemingly fictional flower petal had managed to exist outside of its stories, he pulled out his phone and opened google. A tear slipped down his cheek as he read what the petal most likely meant. Death and mourning. He glanced at the petal again searching for another explanation, yet he found none. He knew it wasn't a real black rose they were usually a deep red .... this flower petal was purely black and it could not be mistaken. 

Hours passed, but it could have been years for all jack cared as he paced the hospital corridors breathing in the headache inducing sterile fumes. Every now and again he would stifle a cough as yet another black petal fluttered from his lips. He was sure there was supposed to be more types of flowers perhaps he was just early on in the stages. His attention was suddenly drawn by a nurse as she emerged from the room. "Mr harkness?" She asked timidly as jack glanced at her with more severity than he meant too as he shoved the petal in his pocket defensively. "He's alive but we really won't be sure how stable he is until he" she trailed off watching jacks facial expression "until he what?" jack asked, his usual swagger and confidence ripped from him. The nurse continued "well until he wakes up from the coma and I really am afraid Mr Harkness that, as it stands, it may be a question of IF he wakes from the coma". Jack practically felt his world crashing to the ground as he coughed into the sleeve of his jacket managing to keep the petals at bay in front of the nurse. "Can I see him?" He asked in a small voice and she nodded. She led him into the room which felt eerily peaceful without all the bustling doctors and nurses. "I'll give you a moment alone with him" she said with a smile as she shut the door. Jack sighed and looked at Ianto's face. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful and youthful but jack knew that beneath the hospital gown and bandages lay horrible wounds that were anything but that. "Ianto ... I don't know if you can hear me and you probably can't but just ...." jack paused attempting to gather his thoughts and keep his tears at bay before he carried on "just stop all this .... just stop it just wake up please soon for me?" He almost pleased with the man in a coma before laughing a little tearily at his own silliness. His tears brought on his coughing and he stared in silence at the small pile of black petals in his hands. "Look what you're doing to me jones, ianto jones" he said in a low, soft voice before dumping the petals into a tissue and throwing the tissue into the rubbish bin in the corner of the room. 

Despite wanting too jack knew he couldn't stay with ianto forever. He found himself at the hospital everyday but each day always ended with him, alone, back in the hub, with nothing to do. He could still feel the thorns of the rose's stems in his throat as they threatened to push up at any moment and the small black roses had started to grow on his chest and abdomen. 

It had been three weeks and still nothing changed ianto wasn't awake and jack continued to spout black petals. He had tried to find the reason as to why he was only giving off one type of petal, so far the only logical explanation he had found was that there was only one type of unrequited love with his condition and even that was just a conspiracy. Besides he wasn't even sure if death and grief WAS a type of unrequited love. The team were growing suspicious of jack, as the days progressed he looked even more pale and worn. At first they had thought that perhaps he was just worried about ianto but it soon became apparent that it was much more than just that. All their fears became true the day that Gwen had found a black petal on the floor of the main hub which, when touched, felt as if it had a coating of dried blood. Sure enough, when she took away her fingers flecks of blood drifted through the air. In no time she had taken the petal to Owen who was now testing the remainder of the blood. "That's jacks blood alright.... he's got hanahaki" the Londoner said in a slightly less snarky tone than usual. The team never told jack that they knew. The thought it would be easier that way for him and for them. So they pretended everything was fine. 

After a month jack had fallen asleep in the chair next to Ianto's hospital bed. The younger mans health had been deteriorating in the past week and jacks flowers had gotten considerably worse so in fear of losing ianto, jack found him self at the hospital more and more often. It became a regular occurrence for the immortal to fall asleep gripping Ianto's hand and be woken by a kind looking nurse. However, today it was not a nurse that woke jack. He felt himself being pulled from his slumber from a hand being pulled from his. He awoke with a jerk gripping ianto tighter, afraid that someone was trying to take him from him. "Jack" came a hoarse groggy voice "I'm going to need my hand". "Ianto??" Jack asked stupidly hardly daring to believe his luck and feeling considerably weaker as the flowers really took their toll his body. "What was my name last time I checked" the Welshman replied with his dry humour. His voice was gravelly but it was still without a doubt ianto. Jack finally got his act together and used the little remote to bring Ianto's bed to a sitting position as he reached out for a cup of water holding it out to Ianto as he put the straw in it. Ianto drank grateful for the water as his inquisitive eyes took in jacks pale face "are you okay?" He asked concern lacing his every word. Jack nodded "don't you worry about me" he replied. Unluckily for jack, his body betrayed him as he let out a particularly harsh cough letting out a spray of black petals. "Jack!" Ianto exclaimed softly as jack closed his eyes in defeat and sat down. Ianto seemed to be deciding what to say "Why are they black?" He finally settled on, jack shrugged "I don't know I thought well the Internet said it could represent grief and death so I" a tear slipped down his cheek "I thought you were going to die" he finished in a broken sounding voice. Ianto's eyes widened "they're for me ?? The petals?" He half gasped as jack nodded "and the flowers" the captain added miserably as he unbuttoned part of his shirt to show the small scars from which he had pulled the flowers from. It was then that ianto realised how much he had been hurting jack by not admitting his true feelings to himself he did love jack and he really had wondered why he hadn't been affected but now he knew just how dangerous repression was. However there was remaining question of ianto wasn't going to die then.... why were the petals black?. You see there was one thing that jack had missed in his frenzied search, the black petals also represented new things and a major change. As ianto finally allowed his love to wash over jack, the captain was brought to a bout of final coughing as he expelled a mix of black and white petals. After all, the true meaning of jacks strange case has always been: change, new beginnings and eternal love.


End file.
